Torrance Public Art

There is public art in the City of Torrance in publicly accessible places and in many schools managed by the Torrance Unified School District. Although Torrance does not have a formal Percent for Art policy, the City has commissioned artists for site specific work and accepted donations of artwork.

The following list briefly depicts and describes works that you can find throughout the City.

Dean Bardos, If You have A Garden and a Library...

This mural was commissioned by the Riviera Garden Club in 2013. The Club already was maintaining a small planted area to the left of the front door of the El Retiro Library. They contact local artist Dean Bardos about painting a mural on the library exterior wall above the planting. Mr. Bardos came up with the idea of depicting a large, open book. The words on the pages of the book are taken from a quote by Cicero, the ancient Roman philosopher and senator, which read, "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."